JOINT CIRCULAR No. 1424/TT-LB ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECREE No. 151/TTg dated April 14, 1959 OF THE PRIME MINISTER REGULATING THE PROVISIONAL RULES ON THE CONSCRIPTION OF LAND FOR THE PURPOSE OF BUILDING FUNDAMENTAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

CIRCULAR

JOINT CIRCULAR OF THE STATE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE MINISTRY OF INTERIOR NO. 1424/TT-LB
DATE: JULY 6, 1959 IMPLEMENTATION OF DECREE NO. 151/TTG
DATE: APRIL 14, 1959 OF THE PRIME MINISTER
REGULATING TEMPORARY PROCEDURES FOR THE USE OF LAND
FOR CONSTRUCTION SITES
FOR BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED TO: RED RIVER DELTA PROVINCE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE.

Cities, provinces, Vinh Linh region

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED TO: Ministries

Since peace was restored, due to the necessity for construction projects such as factories, transportation, irrigation..., central and local departments have requisitioned a considerable amount of farmland from farmers. However, because there has been no unified regulation for all sectors and regions, each place and each department has acted differently, causing farmers to question the policy on land requisition, adversely affecting agricultural production, and failing to timely meet the needs of agencies requiring land.

To address this situation and unify the requisition of land for basic infrastructure construction projects, the Prime Minister issued Decree No. 151-TTg on April 14, 1959, stipulating temporary procedures for requisitioning land necessary for constructing state-managed facilities.

Based on Article 11 of the aforementioned decree, the State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Interior hereby provide some opinions below regarding general principles, authority, procedures for requisitioning land, compensation principles, and detailed regulations to assist departments and local administrative committees in uniformly implementing land requisition procedures, ensuring the required land area for construction projects while properly addressing the rights and interests of those whose land is requisitioned.

I- GENERAL PRINCIPLES, AUTHORITY AND PROCEDURES
FOR REQUISITIONING LAND

1. General principles:

Article 2 of Decree No. 151-TTg dated April 14, 1959 of the Prime Minister stipulates three specific principles:

The first two principles are closely related and fundamental: "Ensure timely and sufficient land area for construction projects, while properly considering the rights and livelihoods of those with land. Only requisition the truly necessary land, without excess. Strive to conserve arable land for cultivation..."

In recent years, in the process of requisitioning land, many serious wasteful phenomena have occurred, such as: Some agencies, under the pretext of "preparing for the future," have requisitioned much more land than actually needed for construction, not only leaving enough land for short-term development but also reserving land for long-term development, leaving land idle or requesting land but not using it for years...

To avoid such wasteful phenomena and implement the principle of conserving land as stated in Article 2 of Decree No. 151-TTg, agencies needing land for construction projects must visit the site to study the construction location, not only researching technical and economic requirements of the project but also determining the truly necessary land area for construction, avoiding overly high demands that result in unused land and waste. At the same time, they should base their selection of sites and layout on the actual situation of the land, minimizing impact on people's production activities, and ensuring project requirements, which means not requisitioning excess land, striving to avoid arable land, land for planting fruit trees, especially good quality land, and fully utilizing idle land.

In cases where construction projects are carried out in phases or require future expansion, the land area needed for subsequent construction phases should be marked on the site map and requisitioned only when needed, absolutely not reserving land, but only delineating areas on the site map for relevant authorities to know and prevent allocation to other agencies.

2. Authority and procedures for requisitioning land:

Regarding the format for requesting land requisition, it is as follows:

Agencies needing to requisition land, before conducting site research, must go through the local planning committee, obtain an introduction letter from the provincial or city administrative committee, and contact the county and commune administrative committees at the location where the intended construction site is located, to obtain permission for research, measurement, and record-keeping.

Provincial, county, and commune administrative committees, based on urban planning or proposed urban development plans (if there is no formal urban plan), allocate construction sites for basic infrastructure projects, avoiding situations where locations are reserved, making land requisition difficult.

- Once a suitable site meeting both technical and economic requirements of the project and the principle of land conservation is selected, the agency needing to requisition land, on one hand, must seek public opinion through propaganda and explanation by the administrative committee and the commune agricultural association, and on the other hand, must seek opinions from relevant ministries or agencies related to the chosen construction site, such as the architectural agency regarding urban planning, the health agency regarding public safety, the land agency regarding land issues, the geological department (Ministry of Agriculture) regarding mineral resources, the transportation, postal, irrigation, and defense agencies if the construction site involves roads, dikes, or military facilities. The project design agency should also provide technical opinions. For projects exceeding the quota, opinions should be sought from the Basic Infrastructure Management Bureau of the State Planning Commission.

- The agency requesting land requisition collects public and relevant agency opinions and resolves these opinions before preparing the application file. All collected opinions, resolution measures, and unresolved issues must be recorded in the application file for site approval and land requisition sent for review.

The application file for site approval and land requisition includes the following documents:

1) A report clearly stating:

- The necessity to construct a basic infrastructure project.

- The location of the project site and the reasons for choosing this location.

- Opinion opinions of the people and relevant agencies, measures for resolution and existing issues.

- The area of land required for construction at present and the area needed in future construction phases or for future promotion if necessary.

- The number of families whose farmland will be requisitioned.

- Measures for compensation.

2) A cadastral map extract clearly indicating the current and future construction locations.

3) A layout plan clearly showing the shape and location of the construction site to demonstrate the density of construction.

The above dossier, prepared by the entity requesting land requisition, must be approved by administrative committees at various levels (district, commune, provincial, city, zone committees) and submitted to the State Planning Commission for review (or the Ministry of National Defense for defense construction projects), and then presented to the Prime Minister for decision; or submitted to the provincial, city, or zone administrative committee for approval, depending on the provisions set forth in Article 3 of this Decree.

For projects exceeding the quota, where the area of land requested for requisition is less than 10 hectares or fewer than 10 houses need to be relocated, such projects must also be submitted to the State Planning Commission for location review.

In cases where the State Planning Commission must review, eight dossiers are required. After the State Planning Commission has reviewed and the Prime Minister has made a decision, these dossiers will be distributed as follows:

The Office of the Prime Minister retains one dossier.

The State Planning Commission retains one dossier.

The remaining six dossiers will be returned to the entity requesting land requisition. Once this entity has completed the compensation process, it shall distribute these dossiers along with the compensation dossier to relevant agencies for easier management:

- One dossier to the Ministry of Construction

- One dossier to the provincial or municipal administrative committee

- One dossier to the commune administrative committee

- Two dossiers to the entity requisitioning the land

- One dossier to the Land Department under the Ministry of Finance

If there is a zone, an additional dossier must be sent to the zone.

After the competent authority approves the entire requisition plan, the entity requiring the land must notify the provincial, municipal, or zone administrative committee where the land is located three months before the start of construction to resolve any outstanding issues and ensure adequate compensation time of two months for those whose land is being requisitioned, as stipulated in Article 14 of this Decree. During this period, the commune administrative committee and local people's organizations must explain to the public once again the measures that have been implemented, while posting the map of the requisitioned land at the commune administrative committee office for two months prior to the handover of the land. The handover of the land should occur one week before the commencement of construction. In cases where crops are about to be harvested, the handover of the land should wait until after the harvest is complete.

Article 4 of Decree No. 151-TTg dated April 14, 1959 provides: "Those whose land is being requisitioned must be notified two months in advance to allow sufficient time for relocation, except in emergency situations... This two-month period runs from the date the person whose land is being requisitioned receives the requisition decision to the date of land handover. During this period, the entity requisitioning the land, the administrative committee, and local people's organizations must pay attention to providing assistance in all aspects according to the actual situation and circumstances of each individual, place, and time to ensure the rights and livelihoods of those whose land is being requisitioned."

It is important to note that during construction, the entity requisitioning the land should strive to avoid leaving materials scattered on the land intended for cultivation around the requisitioned land, or using vehicles to transport materials over cultivated land, damaging crops. If temporary use of land outside the designated area for material storage or transportation routes is necessary, the entity must inform the local administrative committee to negotiate with the landowners for rental or borrowing. If significant damage occurs, the construction entity must compensate the landowner. The amount of compensation for borrowed land is determined through negotiation between both parties, with participation from the commune administrative committee.

II- COMPENSATION FOR OWNERS OF REQUISITIONED LAND
WHOSE LAND IS REQUISITIONED

Article 6 of Decree No. 151-TTg dated April 14, 1959 of the Prime Minister stipulated six specific principles regarding compensation for individuals whose farmland was requisitioned.

To implement these principles effectively to ensure the rights and livelihoods of individuals whose farmland was requisitioned, the provincial or district administrative committees together with the administrative committees of related communes, representatives of commune agricultural associations or cooperatives, representatives of the requisitioning agency, and individuals owning farmland or their representatives shall convene democratic meetings to discuss compensation matters, study solutions for compensation according to the principles set forth in Article 6, and establish compensation standards (compensation prices for each unit area of farmland, crops, trees, houses, etc.).

There are two methods of compensation: compensation in kind (land) and compensation in cash. However, compensation in kind (land) is the best and primary method.

The compensation price is based on the yield of the farmland used to calculate agricultural tax. However, not all cases require compensation; it is necessary to grasp the spirit of Decree No. 151-TTg that compensation primarily targets farmland with yields and profits. If the farmland does not produce yields or profits, compensation may not be required, but at the same time, the living conditions of the landowner must also be considered to determine appropriate compensation on a case-by-case basis. If the landowner voluntarily waives compensation, then no compensation will be provided.

The solutions for compensation and compensation standards must be decided by the provincial or municipal administrative committee before implementation.

To carry out compensation effectively, a compensation committee should be established. The compensation committee has the responsibility to enforce the compensation solutions and standards decided by the provincial or municipal administrative committee.

The compensation committee, appointed by the provincial or district administrative committee, consists of:

- Representatives of commune administrative committees with requisitioned farmland and communes with farmland for compensation.

- Representatives of commune agricultural associations or agricultural cooperatives.

- Representatives of owners of requisitioned farmland.

- Representatives of the requisitioning agency.

- The land administration office has the duty to assist the compensation committee.

For the implementation of compensation, the compensation committee must prepare a map of the farmland plot and a compensation list, then proceed with compensation for individuals whose farmland was requisitioned based on these documents.

Drawing the farmland plot map can be done by obtaining a copy from the Land Administration Office. If this is not available, the requisitioning agency, with guidance and assistance from the land administration office, must draw it up to clearly identify the requisitioned farmland and its area.

Regarding the compensation list, following the model attached to this Circular, the compensation committee must visit the site to compile it based on the actual situation of the requisitioned farmland and the condition of destroyed crops, trees, and houses, if any, to apply the compensation solutions and standards accurately.

The compilation of the compensation list must be conducted in the presence of the farmland owners or their representatives; if they are absent, it must still be carried out.

The compensation file must be approved by the provincial or district administrative committee. After approval, the file must be posted at the headquarters of the local commune administrative committee, and simultaneously, the compensation committee proceeds with compensation.

After completing the compensation process, the land administration office together with the requisitioning agency will delineate the boundaries of the requisitioned farmland and conduct boundary handover procedures according to current regulations.

Decree No. 151-TTg dated April 14, 1959 of the Prime Minister regulates the requisition of farmland in rural areas. Whenever it is necessary to requisition property within urban cities or towns, the agency requiring the property must base its actions on the general principles of the decree and the specific circumstances, and resolve appropriately. In difficult cases, reports must be made to seek opinions from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The above are some opinions and detailed procedures to assist departments and local authorities in implementing the temporary regulations on the requisition of farmland in plains and midlands. As for autonomous regions, the requisition of farmland will be regulated by separate regulations established by the autonomous region administrative committee (Article 12 of Decree No. 151-TTg dated April 14, 1959).

The State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Home Affairs particularly emphasize that departments and local administrative committees comprehensively adhere to the principle of "economy and thrift for national construction," avoid the mentality of "large scale" or "excessive caution," and always listen to public opinions to ensure the full, thorough, and timely implementation of the temporary regulations on the requisition of farmland.

Additionally, the State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Home Affairs recommend that ministries, departments, and local administrative committees pay special attention to the requisition of farmland necessary for basic construction projects, strictly supervise and inspect the requisition and use of farmland.